Peter Tobin

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Peter Britton Tobin

Born August 27, 1946 (1946-08-27) (age 61)
Johnstone, Renfrewshire
Nationality British
Other names Pat McLaughlin, James Kelly
Occupation Handyman
Known for Convicted murderer and sex offender

Peter Britton Tobin[1] (born in 1946 in Johnstone, Renfrewshire) is a convicted murderer and sex offender, and is currently serving a life sentence, with a recommended minimum of 21 years.

In November 2007, skeletal remains of two young women who went missing in 1991 were found at his former home in Margate, Kent for which he is currently awaiting trial. In addition, Tobin is facing investigation for other unsolved cases of murder dating back to the 1960s.

Contents

[edit] Previous Convictions

[edit] Rape of juveniles

In 1993, Tobin attacked two 14-year old girls babysitting his son at his flat in Havant, Hampshire. After holding them at knifepoint and forcing them to drink strong cider and vodka, he sexually assaulted and raped them.[2][3] To avoid arrest, Tobin went on the run and hid in a religious retreat in Warwickshire under a false name, but he was recognised and arrested after appearing on the BBC Crimewatch programme.[4]

In 1994, at Winchester Crown Court, Tobin pleaded guilty, and received a 14 year prison sentence. He was released in 2004, and moved to Paisley, Renfrewshire.[4] In May 2007 he received a further 30-month sentence for breaching the terms of the Violent and Sex Offender Register from this case.[5]

[edit] Angelika Kluk murder

Main article: Angelika Kluk murder case

In September 2006, Peter Tobin was working as a church handyman at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Anderston, Glasgow. He had assumed the name "Pat McLaughlin" to avoid detection, as he was still on the Violent and Sex Offender Register, but not compliant with it, following his 1994 convictions for rape and assault.

Angelika Kluk was a 23-year-old student from Skoczow, near Krakow in Poland. She was staying at the chapel house of St Patrick's Church, where she worked as a cleaner to help finance her Scandinavian Studies course at Gdańsk University. She was last seen alive in the company of Peter Tobin on 24 September 2006, and is thought to have been attacked by him in the garage attached to St Patrick's chapel house. She was beaten, raped, and stabbed to death, then her body was concealed in an underground chamber beneath the floor near the confessional in the church. Forensic evidence suggested that she was still alive when she was placed under the floorboards.[3] Police found her body on 29 September,[6] and Tobin was arrested in London shortly afterwards.[7] He had been admitted to hospital under a false name, and with a fictitious complaint.[8]

[edit] Murder trial

The six-week trial resulted from the evidence gathered under the supervision of Detective Superintendent David Swindle of Strathclyde Police and took place at the High Court of Justiciary, Edinburgh, between 23 March and 4 May 2007.[9]

The trial judge was Lord Menzies, the prosecution was led by Advocate Depute Dorothy Bain, and the defence by Donald Findlay QC.[10] Tobin denied raping and murdering Ms Kluk and claimed she had consented to have sex with him.

Tobin was found guilty of raping and murdering Angelika Kluk and was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 21 years. In sentencing Tobin, Judge Lord Menzies described him as "an evil man".[11]

[edit] Further Cases

Two cases are currently under investigation and full details are not available to the public.

[edit] Vicky Hamilton murder

In June 2007, Tobin's former home in Bathgate, West Lothian, was searched by police in connection with the disappearance of a 15-year old girl, Vicky Hamilton, who was last seen on 10 February 1991 as she waited for a bus home to Redding, near Falkirk. She had been visiting her older sister, Sharon, in Livingston, West Lothian and was waiting to change buses in Bathgate. The last sighting of her was as she was eating chips on a bench in the town centre. Tobin is believed to have left the town a few days after her disappearance.[12]

On 21 July 2007, Lothian and Borders Police released a statement that they had "arrested, cautioned and charged a male in connection with the matter", but did not immediately confirm the identity of the man arrested.[13] The investigation later led to a forensic search of a house in Southsea, Hampshire in early October 2007, where Tobin is believed to have lived shortly after leaving Bathgate.[14]

On 14 November 2007, Lothian and Borders Police confirmed that human remains found in the back garden of 50 Irvine Drive,[15] a house in Margate, Kent, once occupied by Tobin were those of Vicky Hamilton.[16]

[edit] Dinah McNicol murder

Dinah McNicol from Tillingham, Essex, was last seen alive on 5 August 1991. She was hitchhiking home with a male companion from a music festival at Liphook, Hampshire. He was dropped off at Junction 8 of the M25 near Reigate, and she stayed in the car with the driver. She was never seen again. After her disappearance, regular withdrawals of £250 were made from her building society account at cash points in the UK south coast counties of Hampshire and Sussex.

On 16 November 2007, a second body was found at 50 Irvine Drive in Margate. This was later confirmed by police to be that of Dinah McNicol.[17]

[edit] Speculation

There is now speculation that Tobin may have murdered as many as ten women across the UK.[18]

Cases include those of:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Peter Tobin on murder charge. The Daily Telegraph (2007-11-16). Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
  2. ^ Gavin Madely; James Mills. "Rape victim of Angelika Kluk murderer hits out early release that left him free to kill", The Daily Mail, 2006-05-07. Retrieved on 2007-11-18. 
  3. ^ a b David Lohr (2007-11-14). Essex Police Find Skeletal Remains at Former Home of Convicted Killer Peter Tobin. Crime Library. Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
  4. ^ a b Jonathan Lessware. "Sex killer Tobin's violent past", BBC News, 2007-05-04. Retrieved on 2007-11-17. 
  5. ^ "Second jail term for Kluk killer", BBC News, 2007-05-22. Retrieved on 2007-11-17. 
  6. ^ "Body found in Glasgow church", The Times, 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. 
  7. ^ David Lister. "Sister writes of her anguish over student found murdered in church", The Times, 2006-10-02. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. 
  8. ^ "Witness tells Kluk trial of hearing 'horrible' screams", The Scotsman, 2006-04-19. Retrieved on 2007-11-18. 
  9. ^ "Timeline: Angelika murder case", BBC News, 2007-05-07. Retrieved on 2007-08-04. .
  10. ^ "Key figures in Angelika Kluk trial", BBC News, 2007-05-07. Retrieved on 2007-08-04. .
  11. ^ "Tobin guilty of Angelika's murder", BBC News, 2006-05-04. Retrieved on 2007-11-18. 
  12. ^ Ian Swanson. "Vicky: 16-year mystery close to an end", Edinburgh Evening News, 2007-07-17. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. 
  13. ^ "Man arrested over missing Vicky", BBC News, 2007-07-21. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. 
  14. ^ Adam Morris. "Vicky hunt heads south", Edinburgh Evening News, 2007-10-03. Retrieved on 2007-10-26. 
  15. ^ 51°22′35.83″N 1°24′32.27″E / 51.3766194, 1.4089639
  16. ^ "Police ID body in Peter Tobin garden", Sky News, 2007-11-14. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. 
  17. ^ "Second body confirmed as Dinah's", BBC News, 2007-11-20. Retrieved on 2007-11-20. 
  18. ^ Stephen Wright; Gavin Madely, Arthur Martin. "Sex killer linked to murders of TEN young women after skeleton is found in garden", Daily Mail, 2007-11-14. 
  19. ^ Melanie Reid. "Was Angelika’s murderer the infamous Bible John?", The Times, 2007-05-08. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. 
  20. ^ Ben Parsons. "Tobin ruled out of Babes in the Wood murders", The Brighton Argus, 2007-11-16. Retrieved on 2007-11-17. 
  21. ^ Michelle Curran. "Did Tobin also murder Patsy?", Richmond and Twickenham Times, 2007-11-16. Retrieved on 2007-11-17. 


Persondata
NAME Tobin, Peter Britton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pat McLaughlin
SHORT DESCRIPTION Convicted murderer and sex offender
DATE OF BIRTH 27 August 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH Johnstone, Renfrewshire
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH